Low and deteriorating marks for SA’s maths and English teachers

BDLive reports that a new report has found that teachers in SA are getting worse and continue to fare poorly in proficiency in the key subjects of English and maths.

According to the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (Sacmeq) report that was presented to MPs on Tuesday, only 33% of Grade 6 teachers demonstrated "critical reading" skills compared to 77.8% in the 2007 study. For maths‚ the average score achieved by Grade 6 teachers dropped from 764 in the 2007 study to 757 in the 2013 study. The latest report raises more questions about SA’s education system amid growing calls for teachers to be tested regularly in the subjects they teach. The DA said it would be calling for a full-scale review of teacher training and ongoing development of teachers. SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said the union was not surprised by the report and commented: "As long as the teachers are not adequately trained, these reports will always find that we are lacking."